1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical stapling devices and, more particularly, to surgical stapling devices that include a firing indicator for providing an indication to a clinician that the stapling device has been fired.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical stapling devices having an end effector configured to clamp and suture tissue are well known in the medical arts. Typically, these devices include a handle assembly having a firing trigger, a body portion, and a tool assembly supported on the distal end of the body portion. The tool assembly includes a first jaw which supports an anvil assembly and a second jaw which supports a cartridge assembly which houses a plurality of staples. In use, the first and second jaws are movable in relation to each other between spaced and approximated positions to clamp tissue between the jaws. After the tissue has been clamped between the jaws, the firing trigger is actuable to fire the staples from the cartridge assembly through the tissue into the anvil assembly.
In some embodiments, an indicator is provided on the handle assembly of the surgical stapling device to identify to a clinician when the device is in a fire-ready position, i.e., a position in which the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly are approximated sufficiently to allow for the proper formation of staples from the cartridge assembly against the anvil assembly.
In known stapling devices, after the firing trigger has been actuated and the staples have been ejected from the cartridge, there is nothing on the device that indicates to a clinician that the surgical stapling device has been fired and is depleted of staples. Operation of the surgical stapling device by a clinician who is unaware that the surgical stapling device is depleted of staples could result in serious injury to a patient.
A need exists in the art of surgical stapling devices for a simple, inexpensive device for identifying to a clinician that the surgical stapling device has been fired.